by Amy Sumida
“Seren,” Uisdean didn't take the hint. “I had nothing to do with what happened to your Guard.”
As I considered him, the water flowed out of the room and my skirt sank heavily around my legs. Thirteen men came out from behind the screens and took their seats at the table. They all had Asian features but that was where the similarity ended. Hair, eyes, skin, and even build was different with each man. And then there was the woman. Frankly, I was a little annoyed that there weren't more women on this dragon council... at first. Then I got a good look at her and rethought my feminist position.
If all the dragon females were as fierce as this woman appeared, it was a miracle that any male could get close enough to breed a baby dragon. I don't know what it was about her precisely that led me to my perspective. She was strikingly beautiful, with jade colored hair braided intricately around her head and buttery skin that was so perfect, it almost glowed. But there was something in her heavy-lidded, dark, dragon eyes that made me cringe, and there was a set to her lips which hinted at sharp teeth and the desire to use them. She smiled at me and my jaw clenched. She had sharp teeth all right; two rows of them.
I nodded respectfully to the Dragon Queen and quickly looked away, like you might do with an alpha animal you had no intention of dominating. Don't let them think for one second that you're challenging them or they'd take you up on the offer. I certainly didn't want to go up against this woman in a fight simply because I looked at her wrong... or for any reason, come to think of it. So I went back to watching my uncle. For once in his life, King Uisdean was one of the lesser dangers in the room.
Zhayu came over to us and took a chair on my right, which put me between him and Iku.
“Seren, I swear to you by Danu that I had nothing to do with it!” Uisdean exclaimed and the entire table, except for me of course, inhaled sharply.
“That is a serious vow,” a man with flaming red hair noted. “And a dangerous one to make here.”
“Even more so now,” Uisdean nodded. “Niece, you know I would never invoke her name if I were lying.”
“Why even more so now?” Another man with chestnut colored skin and short-cropped, deep black hair asked.
“Danu has returned,” Uisdean declared and the room fell silent.
“What precisely do you mean by that?” A king with craggy features asked. His spiky blue hair looked like it belonged on a teenager but he had the thick jowls of an old man and protruding black eyes.
“She has spoken to us,” Uisdean went on, drawing himself up importantly.
He had on a jeweled black tunic and pants. His long ebony hair had been braided back like mine. It was strange to see him without his usual dramatic cape and the fall of hair which looked like a second cape. The waterproof fabric clung to his sleek build, outlining muscles that were usually hidden, and combined with his braid, the simple attire made him appear to be more of a warrior than a king.
“Spoken to you? You've actually heard her voice?” Another king, this one with somber brown eyes, asked.
“I haven't been so fortunate,” Uisdean confessed. “But Seren has seen her and was kind enough to bring me a message from our goddess.”
Uisdean was being respectful and even a bit kind. Which meant he was up to something.
“You saw her?” A man with a long face and vermilion dragon eyes asked me, with a fair amount of scorn lacing his tone.
“I did,” I nodded, “in her grove and on the Isle of Danu.”
“Why would she appear to you?” A thickly muscled man with sin-black eyes stared me down. I knew that voice.
“Because no one else was listening, King Yazi,” I said simply. “I was new to Fairy and had no preconceived notions of our goddess.”
The men started muttering angrily until Zhayu held up his hand and shouted.
“This news is not entirely shocking,” Zhayu growled. “We knew she would turn up again someday, did we not?”
Everyone went quiet.
“I believe the Princess has been sent to us by Danu,” Zhayu stated firmly. “King Uisdean was just a tool to orchestrate her arrival.”
I nearly burst into laughter when Zhayu called Uisdean a tool. The look on Uisdean's face was priceless.
“So what do you suggest we do, Brother?” Yazi asked. “Should we all drop to our knees and beg the goddess to speak to us?”
“Perhaps,” Zhayu shrugged.
“I don't believe that's what she wants,” I inserted. “She just wants her children back. She wants you to start listening again.”
“Well I'm listening, Princess,” Yazi sneered. “And I don't hear her.”
“I don't think you really are listening, King Yazi,” I said gently. “Or maybe you just don't want to hear.”
“Such things come with time,” Zhayu held up a hand and stopped the verbal attack I saw brewing in Yazi's eyes. “For now, let us simply take the Princess at her word and endeavor to see her visit for all its possibilities. What's the harm in that?”
“The harm is allowing some half-breed to make fools of us,” Yazi snapped.
I stood up abruptly and leaned onto the polished red coral table. Everyone went quiet, staring at me expectantly. Some of the expressions were bloodthirsty but some were merely curious. The woman smiled again and I nearly lost my nerve.
“I am Ambassador Seren Firethorn, first of that name, Princess of Twilight, daughter to King Keir Bloodthorn and Extinguisher Catriona Sloane. I am half human and half twilight fey and fully proud of both of my family lines. My fairy blood is forged of royalty from both the seelie and unseelie kingdoms. But my human blood,” I dropped my voice into a growl, “carries the strength and psychic gifts of the House of Sloane. I am a direct descendant of fairy royalty and the human warriors who killed them. I don't suffer fools or insults.”
The dragon kings gaped at me. The dragon queen smiled wider.
“However,” I went on. “I am here in an ambassadorial capacity so I will not attack you. I will not encase you in burning thorns and tint the water with your blood, as that comment begs for me to do. I will let this first insult slide in the name of goodwill. But from here forth, you will give me the respect that both my title of Princess and position as Ambassador demands. Is that clear?!” I shouted the last bit and stared hard at the entire table. “For if I am not treated in the most respectful manner possible, you will not only have the combined might of the kingdoms of Seelie, Unseelie, and Twilight at your door, you will have to answer to the Goddess herself.”
Silence.
“She could be bluffing,” Yazi was the first to speak.
“Do you really want to take that chance?” I stared him down until his eyes narrowed and he finally looked away.
“Again, I ask you all to consider the possibilities of Princess Seren's visit,” Zhayu said lowly, staring them all down. “She has an impressive lineage and ties to all the courts on land. Think, my royals, think very carefully!”
The faces around pondered Zhayu.
“Sit down, Princess,” Yazi smiled viciously. “I'll offer you no further insults.”
“Thank you,” I said sweetly and took my seat. I smiled at the dragons around me and the true miracle was; they smiled back.
I had taken a bit of a risk with that in-your-face stance but I'd sensed that these dragons had the mentality of the strong. Such dispositions looked down on those weaker than themselves and if I had cowered and hid behind Zhayu after I'd basically had a glove thrown in my face, I would have lost their respect and possibly my life. I knew I had to face them with complete confidence. They could kill me, we all knew it, but I had just let them know that I wouldn't go easily and my death would have consequences. At the very least, they'd give me credit for my brashness. Then I glanced at Uisdean and caught him giving me the strangest, smug look.
“Well done,” Zhayu whispered to me. “Was any of that true?”
“Every last word,” I set my stare on him and his eyes widened.
“Can we get to
the business we gathered for in the first place or must we speak further on ambassadorial issues and Danu?” A king with a beakish nose asked.
I noted a distinct sneer in the word; Danu. Boy these dragons were bitter.
“Let's proceed,” Zhayu nodded.
I focused intently then. I was finally going to find out what Uisdean's business with the dragons was. But they spoke in such generalities; the shipment, the process, the transport etc... that by the end of the meeting, I still had no idea what Uisdean was up to. I did know he wasn't happy with the division of costs and profits. They argued over it until the point where the meeting was called to a halt and it was decided that they'd pick things up the next day.
As the queen and kings headed behind the silk screens to change out of their robes and into their dragon forms, Uisdean approached me. Iku sidled closer and glowered at my uncle but Uisdean wasn't one to be easily intimidated. He wouldn't be dealing with dragons if he were.
“Your little stunt nearly destroyed my enterprise,” Uisdean growled.
“Which stunt?” I asked casually. “The one where I accused you of trying to murder me again or the one where I stood up for myself?”
“Against dragons,” he hissed. “You antagonized the dragon elders mere hours after you swam into their court. You're supposed to be an ambassador, Seren. This is not diplomatic behavior.”
“I didn't attack Yazi,” I shrugged. “That seemed very diplomatic to me.”
“He called you what everyone calls you. If not to your face, they say it behind your back,” Uisdean shook his head. “It's exactly what you are; half fey.”
“Yes but I didn't like his tone.”
“You didn't....” Uisdean gaped at me. “Are you completely insane? I thought bringing you would calm tempers but instead you're going to get us both killed.”
“I think the dragons liked her,” Iku shrugged.
“We did,” one of the kings undulated out from behind the screens and over to us. He had a long, slim body covered in turquoise scales and green whiskers around his face as well as at his knees. The end of his tail fanned out like a mermaid's.
“Your Majesty,” I nodded.
“Princess,” he smiled and swirled around me, ending with his massive face beside mine. “Do you recognize my voice from when we were introduced?”
I had been introduced to all of the dragons during the meeting and although their voices deepened in dragon form, they did retain a hint of their previous tones.
“King Suanmi,” I nodded.
“Well done,” he smiled wide. “I happen to love playing with fire and I heard you mention burning thorns. May I see them?”
“I don't think that would go over well,” I said evasively.
“Oh, no one will mind,” his head swung back and forth in a very Ray Charles sort of way. “It will heat the water and everyone appreciates warm currents.”
The other dragons were sliding out from behind the screens and filling the room with their enormous bodies. I saw Zhayu slither his way up to me.
“Go ahead, Princess,” Zhayu advised. “We'd all like to see your magic.”
“Okay,” I shrugged, hoping that my thorns would burn beneath the sea.
I needn't have worried. As soon as I focused and flung out my hand, a vine started to grow right above the meeting table. It twisted about itself, forming a creaking ball with two-inch long thorns protruding everywhere. The dragons drew closer just as the ball burst into flames. They sighed and drew back a little as the fire continued to rage in defiance of the laws of Nature. The water around it began to bubble.
“I think that will do, Princess,” Zhayu said smugly.
“Oh no, just a little more,” Suanmi begged and drew closer to the flames. He waved his nose in the bubbling water and sighed. “So warm.”
“Princess,” Zhayu gave me a curt nod.
I pulled back on the magic and the ball collapsed into itself.
“Well, at least that much is true,” Yazi huffed as he swam by.
“I like your little fire ball, Princess,” a green dragon with deer antlers and a feathery tail swam by. The voice was distinctly feminine. “It's adorable.”
“Stay away from Queen Daiyu if at all possible,” Iku-Turso warned me.
“Yeah, I'm already way ahead of you on that,” I grimaced.
Chapter Eleven
After the meeting, it was time to eat. I was starving, I hadn't had anything since breakfast, but part of me was wondering what type of food I'd be served in an underwater court. Would it even be cooked or would I have to develop a taste for sashimi?
I got another ride on the Zhayu roller coaster and along the way I realized that I'd be terribly lost without a guide. The coral court's hallways were a labyrinth of tunnels twisting and turning in all directions. And not a single sign to be found.
Zhayu brought us into the dining hall I'd glimpsed earlier. It was a vast, domed room lit by the usual fey lanterns and fishes. In the center of it, a kelp garden waved languidly in the current. Shorter stalks grew around the edges but the fronds in the center were wider than I was and nearly touched the crystal ceiling. Fishes swam through the waving kelp and fairies helped themselves to pieces of it, munching happily like cows chewing cud.
I dearly hoped that wasn't all that they were serving.
There were no tables, it was just an open space with a ginormous green dais at one end. Zhayu took us onto the malachite platform and then through a golden door at the back of the dais. It was one of those discs which seemed to be the only type of doors the underwater court used. It opened onto a much smaller room with a human-sized dining table placed in the center of it. The table's base was a piece of white coral. It had a narrow bottom and a top which fanned out into a roughly circular shape. A piece of glass was laid over the sharp looking crevices to create a smooth surface.
Along the sides of the room were more of the silk changing screens, these in scarlet, and behind them, the walls of the room were covered in enamel; a base of shiny black with colorful glass designs set into it. Dragons featured predominately in the designs, go figure. Zhayu disappeared behind one of the screens just as the rest of the dragons from the meeting streamed in. They all went behind the screens to do their shapeshifting. Thank Danu. Then the room drained and I was left standing on a glossy black floor. I wiped the remaining water from my face as I looked to Iku-Turso.
“Do they just keep screens and changes of clothing in every room?” I asked him dryly.
“No,” he said with a frown. “Just where they entertain guests from the surface.”
I suppose my dry wit didn't go over well with a water fairy.
Before I could say anything more, a door at the back of the room opened and a team of asrai walked in carrying net bags. Asrai are water fey who are so pale, they're practically translucent and they're often called sea ghosts because of it. They couldn't stand sunlight. In fact, they'd dissolve into water if exposed to it.
The asrai went behind a partition I hadn't noticed. It was made of the same enamel as the walls and was placed near the back of the room, so it hadn't registered right away. Soon, the sounds of dicing and chopping were heard. An air filled room would definitely come in handy if you wanted to cook underwater. I was hoping this meant our meal wouldn't be raw.
“This way, Princess,” Iku led me to the circular table and held out a chair for me.
“Thank you,” I slid in and drug the heavy chair closer to the table as the dragon queen and kings emerged and began to join us.
It wasn't until the smell of cooking food began to fill the chamber that Uisdean showed up with his Guard. I guess dragon rides were reserved for princesses. I admit that the thought of him swimming as fast as he could through the labyrinthine tunnels made me grin. Uisdean strode up to the table as his Guard fell into line behind him. He was about to sit beside me when Iku held up his hand and stopped him.
“I'm sorry, King Uisdean but your intentions towards the Princess, good
or bad, have yet to be determined,” he nodded to the seat on his left. “Why don't you take this chair instead. Then you can still converse with your niece.”
“With you between us to protect her?” Uisdean rolled his eyes and sat.
His Guards took up a position along the line of screens behind us.
“Seren,” Uisdean leaned forward to speak around Iku. “This is ridiculous. I'm not trying to kill you, it would start a war with Twilight.”
“Not if you could blame it on a dragon,” I pointed out.
“You know your father would still hold me accountable,” Uisdean huffed. “Besides, Danu gave you an apple. I would never kill such a fairy. It would be blasphemy.”
“Fair enough,” I conceded. “But then who was behind it? I don't buy for one second that it was just a coincidence that all of my Guard's spells failed while mine miraculously worked.”
“I agree,” Uisdean gave me a grim face. “Someone wanted you here alone but it wasn't I.”
“Who else would the casters obey?” Zhayu asked as he approached and took the empty seat on my right.
“What do you mean?” Uisdean frowned.
“Well, we must look to the source and the source of the failed spells are the casters,” Zhayu sighed like it was obvious. “So who, besides yourself, would have enough sway with them that they could compel the casters to betray you and the Princess?”
“Who indeed?” Uisdean looked away from us pensively.
“Well, get back to me if you think of anyone,” I snapped.
“Ah, here's the first course,” Zhayu sat back in his seat expectantly while a waiter placed a steaming bowl before him.
“What kind of soup is it?” I tried to sound casual as my bowl was placed before me.
“Seaweed,” Iku answered with a smile. “It's very good, even land fey love it.”
I took a whiff and determined that it smelled palatable. A few swishes with my spoon brought some deep green swatches swirling around the porcelain bowl. I took a spoonful of the golden liquid and tried it. It was very good. I sighed in relief.
